ABSTRACT
From the impeachment of President Donald Trump, to the coronavirus pandemic, to the resurgence of racial justice activism, political events in 2020 profoundly affected and were affected by the world of sports. For Communication scholars, this convergence of events overlapped with disciplinary conversations about the coherence and purpose of “sports communication” research. As “2020” becomes a shorthand for describing a complex political constellation, then, it may also serve as a symbolic cornerstone for future scholarship that demonstrates how sport shapes as much as it reflects society, reveals multiple levels of social impact even among those who do not follow or participate in sport, and creates and contests various forms of political identification.
